| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| India preparing for limited punitive strikes in Kashmir |
| 2002-05-21 |
| Indian troops have been given the green light for "limited punitive" action against targets inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, a leading defence analyst said on Tuesday. So they're going to try for an IDF-style incursion? That should be pretty interesting. National armies usually resist such things. "All indications are that the armed forces have been given the go-ahead for limited punitive action against terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," said Sridhar, senior defence expert who recently retired from the Insitute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA). "A limited military action looks inevitable but it has also been made clear to the forces that this is not a war against the Pakistan army but against terrorists in PoK." So what are you gonna do when the Pak army doesn't get the word and they come rolling up with guns blazing? Diplomats, however, believe India's leaders are still in a political rather than a military mindset and that much of the Indian war-mongering of the past week or so is aimed at pressuring Washington to put the squeeze on Pakistan to clamp down on religious militancy in Kashmir. That's worked well so far, hasn't it? UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, meanwhile, called on the rival powers to "exercise maximum restraint to avert a further escalation of tensions." Well, hell, everybody listens when Kofi speaks... Sridhar said while the Indian forces would "strike at a time and place of their choice," some targets had already been identified. "The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) have built huge 300-400 bed dormitories in and around Muzaffarabad in PoK," he said. "If some of these structures are destroyed, the message would be conveyed." Oh, Christ. They're "sending messages." They might as well stay home. "Sending messages" results in a bunch of perfectly good soldiers getting killed and things snapping back to just the way they were before the "message" got "sent." The message is always the same: "We're gonna blow up some buildings and nothin' else." The analyst said Pakistan was unlikely to retaliate and will only end up "increasing the intensity of shelling on the borders, abuse India and make noises at international fora." Why would they be unlikely to retaliate against an attack on what they consider their territory? Are you nuts? Over the past few days, the government has taken a series of steps normally reserved for conflict scenarios. These include bringing the paramilitary forces in Kashmir under direct control of the army and similarly giving the navy the full command of the coast guards and mechant navy. "This meets a key requirement of war-preparedness and this is a clear signal to Pakistan and the rest of the world that India means business," defence analyst Brahma Chellaney told the Hindustan Times. Not if all you're gonna do is "send a message." Earlier at a function, Advani said the Government would have to change its current policy of combatting militancy in Kashmir. "The Government is of firm belief that the way we are retaliating will have to be changed," he said. Well, don't change it to "limited war." Of all the damned dumb ideas... If they're actually going to change tactics and avoid all-out war, which is a good idea, they'd better start recruiting a lot of guys who don't mind wearing turbans and blowing up buildings full of jihadis' relatives in Muzaffarabad. Every once in awhile they'll have to cut somebody's head off and leave it where it someplace public. In other words, the only way to fight the kind of war of attrition that's being waged against India is with a counter war of attrition. Every time there's a suicide attack on an Indian base, there has to be one on a Pak base, and maybe two attacks. Every time houses are burned down in Indian J&K, houses have to be burned down in AJK. Seems like in a country the size of India they should be able to recruit enough cannon fodder to swamp the Paks and drive them out of AJK. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |